And a Dresser Stool...

Remember Astro Boy?

Cute enough... but not the RIGHT kind of cutie for Little Miss Katie's new bedroom.

But look beyond the cartoon to the stool underneath...

Can't you just picture it with a full-on crazy fluffy white cover instead?

I certainly could!

The stool itself came from one of my Wonderful Work Buddies. Not that I actually work there anymore, but I still think of them as My Girls. And I'm sure I'll go back again, ONE DAY!

Jo-Jo had been having a clean out at her place - and she just KNEW that Little Miss Katie would love a Girly Stool. She also knew that I would be up for the challenge of revamping it.

I thought that it might have been a bit tricky, but then I flipped it over and saw that the previous cover had been attached with STICKY TAPE... and I figured I would manage just fine...

So I armed myself with a Powerful Staple Gun and some Fabulously Fluffy Fabric.

Did I mention that the Fabulously Fluffy Fabric makes a Freakingly Huge Mess?

That's the leg of my pants in the photo. I should have worn a different colour...

It was an incredibly quick process once I got started.

A simple matter of covering the base, and then covering the cushion.



Job done!

And I'm sure the clean up took longer than the project itself...

And Now For The Curtains

Well...

Of course the room needed new curtains, right?

And of course I wanted to UPCYCLE something in the process, right?

These double bed sheets were perfect for the job!

I love their "Vintagey Vibe". They feel just like the kind of sheets that I would have had on my bed when I was eight years old - and Little Miss Katie loves them too. In fact, they came with a couple of pillow cases... so we've already snaffled them for our beds.

Each sheet had a couple of small holes - but they were right near the edge, so I was able to just trim a length off without causing any problems.Which was quite a relief, since I hadn't noticed them until I started ironing...

Man there was a lot of IRONING!!!

I'm not much of a Sewing Legend, but I did want to line the curtains... 

So I used this tutorial here for the basics and then stitched header tape to the top to gather the curtains...

 

For the lining, I recycled an old doona cover.

(Now for all of my non-Aussie readers - that would be a duvet cover or a quilt cover!)

I hadn't realised until I came to use it, that the top and bottom of the cover were two different prints. Mind you, they were exactly the same colour - so I just went ahead and used them anyway. But it does mean that there is a slight difference between each one...

Take a peek at the left curtain:

And now the right curtain:

See what I mean?

Different. But not different enough to worry about. 

So now the curtain are done, and the room is coming together nicely...

You can't see from the photos, but three of the walls are painted white and one is lilac - the same colour as the mirror. So the Vintagey Vibe curtains work beautifully!

We even found a place for the Blooming Flower Cushion I made a year or so back:

PS. The Girl was away on camp when I took this photo, which explains why the floral pillowcase is missing from the bed - and also why the room is actually CLEAN!!!

Branching Out

I'm trying to branch out a little.

I love recycling yarn, and always will - but there are so many other ares where we can UPCYCLE.

During my blog absence, I revamped Little Miss Katie's bedroom with a fresh coat of paint on the walls and ceiling.

My timing is not always smart with these things. For starters, Mr Goldfish was away. He's a Scout Leader - and he was interstate for a fortnight at the Australian Jamboree. So I was home on my own with all the kids. That's three school aged kids - all on holidays and expecting to be entertained... PLUS a toddler! Oh. And we were in the middle of a heat wave. The kind of heat where your paint starts drying on your brush between dipping it in the tray, and painting it on the wall.

But when you're in the zone - you're IN THE ZONE.

So you push through the barriers and just do what you have to do.

(If only I could do that in all the other areas of my life. But that's a story for another day.)

Anyway.

I wanted to add a chest of drawers for the bedside.

So of course I went Op Shopping to see what Second Hand Delight I could discover.

To be honest, there wasn't a lot on offer...

But when I saw this fully functioning chest of drawers for $1 - I could hardly say NO.

Yeah.

I know.

There's a handle missing.

And the top is kind of gungy and covered in ickyness.

Plus a dinosaur, courtesy of The Toddler.



But I figured we could get around all that...

So I set the kids to work with some sandpaper and a drawer each.

Well - they were asking to be entertained, weren't they?

And The Toddler just kind of supervised... In between juice breaks.



The dinosaur was useless, but kind of majestic looking.



So.

With a bit of scrubbing and a light sand, followed by a couple of coats of paint and some fresh handles... We have a winner!

Not bad for a $1 chest of drawers, hey?

That mirror was a makeover job too - but I forgot to take photos.

And how gorgeous is that Rag Doll?

She was made by a dear friend of mine, the Incredibly Artistic Anna.

You can check out more of Anna's work on her Facebook page - Swallowtail.

Beanie Giveaway.

I've been having a blast making beanies for the Alice Springs Beanie Festival...

The problem is - I can only send ten hats up - and I've made eleven.

Which means that one hat needs to stay behind.

So here's the thing...

I want YOU to tell me which hat I should SEND TO YOU instead!

Just leave a comment here on my blog telling me which one is your favourite.

Anyone can enter. Go and tell your friends...

The winner will be chosen by random selection on Sunday May 19th - so you have five days only to vote for your favourite.

(Of course Little Miss Newspaper will be staying here with me).

Here they are:

#1 - Slouchy Stripes


#2 - Purple Haze


#3 - Grape Fizz


#4 - Bits and Bobs


#5 - Fuzzy Wuzzy


#6 - Spring Garden


#7 - Rainbow Hat


#8 - Bumpy Bits


#9 - Nice and Natural


#10 - Kiss Kiss


#11 - Moody Blues

Mothers Day Surprise

I don't often talk about my eldest child here on the blog...

He's a Teenage Boy - what funny little creatures they can be!

But I really wanted to share the gift he made me for Mothers Day this year.

I reckon its Pretty Damn Awesome for a 13 year old...

He made it in Woodworking Class at school. 

The instructions were for a simple hinged box, with everything sitting squarely...

But "My Boy" wanted his to look a little different - so he implemented that fabulous curve.

I love that he has a burning need to do things differently than the norm.

Even if it does drive me INSANE at times...

Early Entries...

Pssst.

Have you signed up for the May Challenge yet?

The one where you get to make a felted bag, and then embellish it any way you fancy?

Want to check out the competition so far? We've had three completed entries already.

And they're all deliciously different.

Take a little look:

Juanita has incorporated the eyes into her bag - but it looks nothing like mine!

She's really glammed it up with thick eyelashes and luscious lips...

I know there's a couple of Little Girls in this house who would go nuts for a bag like this.



Patricia has made two bags already - what a Speedy Gonzales!

I love the dusty pink and burgundy combination. I had forgotten how nicely they work together...

And how nicely stripes blend into one another when felted.



Janie has gone all out with the artistic talent on this one...

Such a Clever Chook!

She has used her needle felting skills to work up a farm scene, complete with clouds, flowers, sheep and a pond. She's even looking for the perfect duck buttons, so they can "swim" in the pond...



Aren't they all Deliciously Different?

And all based on the same pattern...

Which is your favourite so far? And how would you embellish your own bag?

Remember, the untested pattern is available for FREE until the end of May 2013.

If you want to join in, come and see us here on Ravelry or email me directly.

May Challenge

Ready for a new challenge?

This month we're working on a Felted Crochet Bag...

I give you the instructions for making the bag - and then it's up to you to decorate it any way you fancy!

You could add a crochet trim and maybe some embroidery...

How about some beads and buttons?

Anyone own a BeDazzler? I always wanted one of them... Imagine the bling you could add!

Maybe you're a whizz at needle felting? Or you just want to give it a go?

This is your chance to play around and see where your imagination takes you...

So how about it?

Are you interested?

Email me for the pattern... or join us here on Ravelry.



This is the sketch given to me by Esther... the winner of our February Challenge.

She asked me to design a bag with a face... and hoped for a couple of different facial options..

But where is the face, you ask?

Here it is...



And here:



And here: 



And here:



The pattern includes instructions for making these faces...

Or you can jumble them up to create your own expressions...

Or ignore them completely - and let your own creativity run wild!

The challenge will run until the end of May 2013, and during this time the untested pattern is available for FREE.

Don't miss out.

As for me - I'm still thinking about how to decorate my bag...